The Toddler Priest.

In life we all have something that we are very passionate about, for some it is to getting a book published, becoming a millionaire, buying a house, buying a sports car, getting the leading role in dance or acting, chosen for a top football club, winning the top prize in a popular sports event, singing the solo song at the Superbowl, been accepted in a new country so they can have a better life…. The list as you know is endless, and what is passionate or desperate for one person is not for another and vice versa.

For me, when I was single it was to have a baby, but there was a huge problem with that, I was single and went to Church, I’m talking about many years ago when things were different to what they are now in the West. At one point I lived on my own for five years, and the desperation to have a baby of my own, got SO bad at one point I thought of just going out and having a one-night stand! I knew I’d regret that, and I’d hate myself in the morning, and eventually that silly idea went only to be followed by an even sillier one! If I couldn’t find a husband as there didn’t seem to be many single men about, then would it be bad just to use just his sperm? With his permission of course. I knew that was nuts. There were a few of us single girls, we would go to Church events whatever that was mixing with the married women. In my mind there were only two types of people in the world married or single, married women with a child or a single woman without a child. There was a void in my life that only a baby could fill. But there was no man in sight let alone a baby. It consumed me. I tried to forget and just live my life for me, I tried to eat, drink and be merry, but I think the merry part is sex, so it was just eat and drink. Sometimes I wished I had a crystal ball so I could see into the future, so that I could at least know when I would either find a husband or have a baby. But we don’t do fortune telling at our Church, and don’t get me wrong, over the years those I worked with co-workers who would ask me to go with them often when they were going to find out their futures and I always said, “No.”

Quickly the years went by, and as they did, some pregnant women I could cope with and some, just made me depressed, most of them I couldn’t hold their baby and when I was offered, I’d just say, “She is too tiny when she is a bit older……” There were SO many mixed-up contradictions in my head, for sometimes I’d be OK and some days I wouldn’t be, I’d be in my flat in floods of tears, where hours earlier I would either have been at work or out having a lovely meal and a laugh with friends.

I remember around this time I watch a fantastic film starring Barbra Streisand the film was called, ‘Yentl’ I could SO relate to her in that film, the pretty perfect woman and the plain one, yet still been all woman, the desires, wanting love….. I cried so much watching it. What a powerful film, bringing out all my emotions.

Then one day in my flat, I decided to find out if God liked us Women, I bought a journal and in it I decided to read the Bible and write down about some of the women in there, were their prayers answered? I decided to start with a woman called Hannah, I’d read about her before many times, but this time I wanted to read about her from a woman’s point of view, so I read her story.

Hannah was married her husband who also had another wife, but the other wife had children lots of them. Hannah was lovely and so was her husband, but the other wife would tease her and make her cry. Each year all of them would go to a huge religious Festival, it was like the highlight of their year, I suppose like our Christmas. Her husband would give gifts to all of them in the family, but the other wife would make fun of her year after year after year. Poor Hannah, so what should have been a happy time for Hannah it wasn’t and she would be so upset she wouldn’t eat. Her Husband said to her the one year, “Why are you crying, just because you have no kids, aren’t I better than ten sons?” Although he really loved her, he just didn’t understand the void that was missing in her life, yes, a husband is good but a baby too, is even better.

On this particular afternoon, when all were still at the Festival, they had gone back to their hotel tents, all happy and content but Hannah wasn’t happy so she came out of the hotel tent and went into the main religious Tent, there in a quiet spot she sat, her eyes closed her face facing slightly heavenward, she moved her lips but no sound came out, and the Priest in charge saw her and said, “Why do you come here drunk!” Hannah replied, “No sir, I’m not drunk, I’m very, very sad, I was praying,” And the Priest said, “Then you just cheer up Lass, your prayers will be answered.” Sometimes that is all we need, to feel better. For in the moment Hannah felt better and it was like a huge weight had been lifted of her young shoulders. She got up and left the special Tent and went back into the hotel tent and enjoyed her supper.

The next time her husband slept with her, the Lord remembered her prayer and she became pregnant. She gave birth nine months later and she called him Samuel which means “I asked the Lord for him.” Then the next time they were all due to go again to the Festival she said to her husband, “Samuel and I won’t go this year,” And she stayed home with their baby. The following year Hannah did the same thing.

The third year, she said to her Husband, “Today when we go to the Festival, I will leave Samuel there, I made a Promise to God that, “If you give me a Son I will give him back to You for the rest of his life.”

Her Husband is amazing on every single level! He allowed her to name their Son, he allowed her to leave their Son at the special Tent at the festival, forever. I don’t know of any Man In the whole world who would allow his Wife to do that, I wondered if her ever thought, “Women!” But even if he had, he didn’t say it to the Woman he truly loved dearly. He knew he could trust his Wife to do the right thing, and the best thing for their Child. And it turned out he was right to trust her to do the right thing in this matter.

Every year when they all went up to the Festival to the special Tent, Hannah would bring a very special coat, that she would have handmade, with Love, all through the year, for their Son, little Samuel was a Priest-in-Training, he was dressed exactly like the other Priests in the huge Tent. He was the cutest little thing, in his Priestly clothing, all would notice him. His Dad would swell with pride, as would Samuel’s other brothers and sisters that were born after him, and of course the other wife was there with her mocking kids. But guess who had the last laugh?

Samuel became the best Priest of all, he was highly respected by everyone, he helped all in the Community and lived to be a very old age.

1 Samuel chapter One.